Bristol City have a great chance to put clear daylight between themselves and the drop zone on Friday when they face Ian Holloway's QPR. And as they prepare for the game head coach Lee Johnson has spoken about two ex-Robins in the R's' ranks.

Luke Freeman left the club after a protracted move last January and Johnson spoke about the move and how he hopes to get one over him during the upcoming game.

He also spoke about former forward Matt Smith and returning City striker Milan Djuric.

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"Obviously Luke was a fantastic servant for the football club. Probably the best player in League 1 at the time. He produced some sterling performances to get the club promoted.

"It's no secret that we offered Luke a contract but he decided he wanted to seek pastures new and move on, and that meant that we had to get the best possible price for him. We've done that, now he's at QPR, I think he's happy and closer to his family and I'm sure we'll give him a warm welcome before the game, but during it make sure he's on the losing side.

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Speaking specifically on Freeman's transfer, Johnson admitted that football is a great game but not necessarily a great industry at times.

Johnson told the Bristol City HD player: "There are various riches and potential moves for people, but it was a good deal for Luke as far as it was closer to home and closer to his family but we have to remember that he was a really good servant for the club."

And on Matt Smith, who played with Johnson at Oldham as well as starring for the Robins for 20 games, the City gaffer explained that he had in the past been interested in signing the forward again: "Yeah, of course... He's a player that I've always liked and he's done well at Bristol City previously and he's a lovely lad as well.

"He's now at QPR and we find ourselves facing QPR and the challenge that comes with Matt Smith on Monday."

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Speaking about keeping a buffer over Blackburn Rovers who lie just below them in the league table, Johnson said it was about looking forwards too.

"At this stage obviously every point is important. Our goal difference is slightly better as well so we have to keep that in mind.

"We also want to look ahead of us. We want to try and overtake a couple of people. We've got Nottingham Forest and Burton only a point ahead of us, even QPR are only six points ahead of us... If we beat them then we cut that gap to three points and that's really important. The more people we can draw in [to the relegation scrap] the better," explained Johnson.

The 35-year-old coach went on to explain that Milan Djuric is in contention to play in the last five games of the season after returning to first-team training, and that Johnson had the utmost confidence in the Bosnian international becoming a successful Championship striker.